A regional workshop on the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) held in Manila, Philippines, in July, attracted over 30 participants from eight countries.
Organized by the IAEA in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines through the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the event aimed at enhancing the understanding of the role of the CSC in establishing a global nuclear liability regime in the region, including the States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
During the four-day workshop, IAEA representatives, experts, and participants engaged in productive discussions on the CSC including its features, benefits and compensation amounts (both national and international), as well as its coverage of small modular reactors (SMRs) and floating nuclear power plants, in respect of which there is growing interest in the region.
In his opening remarks, Carlo Arcilla, Director of the PNRI said that “as we continue moving towards introducing nuclear power, the Philippines is seeking to establish a robust framework for liability and compensation which assures prompt and meaningful compensation for nuclear damage to persons, property and the environment”. He further stated that “as a modern nuclear liability convention, the CSC provides the best protection for the public. It enables us to have treaty relations with major nuclear vendors and provides the legal certainty necessary for them, operators, suppliers, investors, lenders and insurers to make a positive decision to participate in our planned nuclear projects”.
Participants also had the opportunity to share their national perspectives on the status of joining the CSC and existing legal frameworks on civil liability for nuclear damage. The roundtable discussions facilitated exchanges on issues, challenges, and opportunities in the establishment of national nuclear liability frameworks and the adherence to the CSC. The update on the compensation for the damage caused by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident enabled participants to consider the robust compensation mechanisms established in Japan following the accident. Two case studies on hypothetical nuclear incidents at an NPP and during the transport of nuclear material, provided valuable insights as to how the CSC provides for legal certainty for those affected by such incidents and for the nuclear industry, as well as how the CSC could operate as a regional framework providing for equal treatment and non-discrimination of those who may be affected by a nuclear accident.
Many of the participating officials expressed interest in the CSC and the need for their countries to receive further information. Siti Afidah Binti Awang, Science Officer from the Department of Atomic Energy, Malaysia, stated that “this event was particularly useful for me since it highlighted the role of the CSC in establishing not only a national and global nuclear liability framework but also a regional framework for ASEAN States and other countries in the vicinity, as it is not only for those countries that may have NPPs in the future but also for non-nuclear neighbours and coastal States whose waters may be subject to the transit of nuclear material.”
As identified by the 2012 Recommendations of the IAEA’s International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX) and its 2022 Statement on the Benefits of Joining the Global Nuclear Liability Regime, the CSC provides a pathway to treaty relations among the Paris Convention and Vienna Convention States parties. This includes those Paris and Vienna States that are parties to the Joint Protocol, as well as CSC Annex States (those that apply the nuclear liability principles and enhancements as set forth in the CSC and the CSC Annex) and, thus, provides a mechanism for achieving treaty relations with as many States as practical, with the goal of universal participation in the global nuclear liability regime. In addition, the CSC contains features to promote increased compensation, including an international fund to supplement the amount of compensation available under national law for nuclear damage.
After the regional workshop, the IAEA and the Philippines held a bilateral meeting on 5 July 2024 to discuss the draft nuclear liability Bill and the status of adherence to the CSC. The regional workshop and the bilateral meeting were funded through the extra-budgetary resources provided by Canada and the USA to promote adherence to the CSC.
